Starfire's Battle
by Aries Heronine
Summary: The beginning of relationships are hard, anyone could have told her that. What no one mentioned is that perfection is relative, love is blind, and clouds aren't threatening until thunder starts rolling.
1. Chapter 1

Starfire examined herself in the full length mirror inside her room. She sighed. _Robin is my boyfriend now. He is perfect. He has many adoring fans who are all also quite perfect. Why can I not attain a similar level of perfection? Robin deserves perfection. Am I worthy of Robin? _She shook her head, trying to shake the feeling of doubt she had, put on a smile, and walked out into the kitchen to meet her friends.

"Morning, Starfire," Cyborg greeted her, cooking up some bacon on the stove. "Want some bacon when it's done? It's almost ready," he said, trying to entice her and further infuriate Beast Boy.

"No thank you, friend. I am not hungry this morning."

"Then how bout some waffles?"

"Thank you for the offer, Cyborg, but I am still feeling quite full from last night."

"But you gotta have something! After all, breakfast _is _the most important meal of the day!" Beast Boy added, jumping into the conversation.

"No thank you. I am simply not very hungry this morning." Starfire's stomach growled contradictorily.

"Ya sure?" Beast Boy pressed.

"I am sure. Thank you, though. I will just have a glass of the water, please." Starfire insisted.

"Okay then. More for me!" Cyborg yelled. The present situation forgotten, Starfire sighed and poured herself a glass of water. Raven came out and silently poured herself a cup of her favorite herbal tea. Robin then came out too. He snuck up behind the still-standing Starfire and grabbed her around her waist, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before he grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down, picking up the newspaper lying on the table and began to read.

They all sat around their considerably small dining room table eating and drinking their various foods…and drinks. Cyborg and Beast Boy were quietly bickering over the quality of life one could have-or not have- being a vegetarian. Raven was silently sipping her tea, reading a section of the paper she had managed to take before Robin got to it. Robin was drinking his coffee, reading the paper, leaning back in his chair. Starfire was uncharacteristically quiet, just sitting in her chair, playing with her now empty glass of water. Robin looked up, noticing the silence. He was about to ask a question, when the alarm blared and the red lights began flashing.

"Titans, trouble!" Robin yelled, leaping up from his chair and running towards the computer, almost spilling his coffee.

"Aww man, but what about my waffles?" Cyborg whined.

"Or my tofu?" Beast Boy complained.

"You can eat it when we get back," Raven snapped at the both of them.

"It is Plasmas," Starfire stated matter-of-factly, looking up from over Robin's shoulder.

"Piece of cake, " Cyborg smirked.

**A/N: Soooo...what do you think? I'm thinking that most of my "scenes" will take place in one setting/area most of the time, so I'll break it up with scene changes? I'm not saying I'm one of those needy brats who are attention-whores (sorry if that offended anyone, I typically don't use language like that), but reviews really give me a confidence boost so that I think it might actually be WORTH writing, ya know? So tell me what you think please and thank you! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sooo...I'm not too sure about trying to write a fight scene. I'm sure I will need to in the near future, but for now, I kinda skipped over the last one. If you want me to put it in there, message me and I'll add it just for you.(: Thank you so much for the reviews, and keep 'em coming!**

"Like I said, piece of cake," Cyborg said as the team walked back into the common room, all covered with an assorted amount of goo.

"Easy for you to say, dude! I have GOO in my HAIR! Do you know how long this is gonna take me to wash out?" Beast Boy shrieked, very concerned with the well-being of his hair.

"Well what about Star?" Robin asked. "She got hit the most, AND she has the longest hair. Besides," he added concerned, turning towards Starfire, "you look exhausted. Why don't you go take a shower and like, take a nap?"

"I will see how I am feeling after a shower," she said with a sigh, sounding fatigued. She turned and left the room, heading down the hall to her room, and eventually, to the bathroom for a nice hot shower.

Robin waited until she was out of earshot, then turned to his teammates. "Anyone else notice something up with Star?"

"Nah," Beast Boy responded distractedly, spotting the tofu he had left on the table earlier that day.

"Nope. Well, wait…" Cyborg trailed off.

"What?" Robin questioned.

"Well, it's nothing big, but she didn't eat breakfast this morning. She said she wasn't hungry. Maybe she just wasn't feeling well this morning."

"And her flying around in the sky and shooting her bolts probably didn't do anything to make her feel any better, either," Raven pointed out reasonably.

"Yea, I s'ppose so." Robin shrugged, and decided he would ask her when she got out.

"I'm sure its nothing. Maybe she just has a cold," Raven suggested.

"I could ask her if she wants me to check her out once she's done with her shower, if you want, " Cyborg offered, sitting down in front of his now-cold waffles, but shoveling them into his mouth just the same.

"I don't see why not. Well, I'm going to go change. And see what of this all I can actually wash. Or ever use again," Robin added, silently cursing Plasmas in his head for ruining ANOTHER one of his uniforms and utility belts.

"Goah luh wih thah," Cyborg said with a mouthful.

"Gross," Raven muttered, walking off down the hallway to her room to look for a change of clothes and a new book.

Starfire sighed, feeling tension roll out of her shoulders under the pounding of the hot water. She rolled her shoulders back, and took a step backwards, so that she was standing directly under the shower head. The water ran down her face, washing away all the sweat and goo that had collected there. She took a deep breath in, and stepped forward. She turned around and turned off the water, having finished her shower. She quickly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her aching body. She was sore all over from the fight today, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. On most days, it didn't bother her. Today, however, was different.

Starfire looked at herself wrapped up in her towel in the mirror in the bathroom. _I am not very strong, or I would not be this sore. Robin is never this sore, I should think. He is also not this big, _she thought, a frown gracing her normally captivating, smiling face. _Clearly, I must do something more. What if, including reducing the amount of food I eat, I exercise and train more? Then I will become less big and stronger. I **will** look perfect, eventually. Robin deserves to have a prefect girl as his girlfriend. _Her face displayed her chagrin as she made this decision. It would be hard, she knew that. She was already not feeling her best after the one battle today. But somehow, some way, Starfire was determined to become a prettier, skinnier, stronger girl, a tougher, better Teen Titan, and the girlfriend she thought Robin deserved.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I am so so so so so so very sorry! I have been so busy getting back into the swing of things and school and, wait. You don't wanna hear all my stupid excuses. Well, anyways, my apologies, and I PLAN on getting at least 2 more chapters up this weekend. Scout's honor. (Ha, I was never in scouts. Oh well. Dead Poet's honor. There you go. A cookie to those who get my reference! xD) Well, on with the story!**

As Starfire walked down the hall back into the common room, Robin couldn't help but marvel at her. She was one of the most graceful, beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. And she was kind, and gentle, and caring. He was convinced he was the luckiest guy on the planet. How else could he have gotten a girl as perfect as Starfire?

"Hey, Starfire," he said with a smile. He patted the seat next to him on the otherwise unoccupied couch.

She managed a smile and joined him on the couch. She snuggled up into him so that her feet were also on the couch and her head was leaning against his chest. She loved sitting like this. When they were this way, Starfire felt protected, taken care of. His hand began to almost pet the top of her head, stroking her shining hair gently.

"You feeling ok, Star?" he asked, genuine concern breaking through his normally controlled façade. His eyes, hidden behind his mask, were full of emotion, and for that, he was grateful for the mask.

"Yes, Robin. I am feeling just fine," she said timidly, her voice wavering.

"You sure? I mean, you seem like you're…ok, honestly Star? You sound and look like you just got hit by a truck."

"I did just recently get hit, Robin," Starfire countered defensively. "And it may not have been a truck, but it did still have similar effects."

"Yea, I know Star," Robin agreed, backing off. "But you've been in tougher fights before, and you never seem this exhausted…" Robin trailed off, his eyes examining her body, which seemed to lack the glow that it usually had, whether she was simply chilling with the Titans or fighting one of the countless villains. "Do you want me to get you anything? Like, some food or something to drink?"

Starfire almost scoffed at his suggestion to get her food, and then remembered that she couldn't tell anyone about her resolve. So she simply smiled and leaned into him further. "No thank you, Robin. I am content just sitting here with you."

"Hahaha well okay then," Robin agreed with a smile. Starfire had managed to push his concerns, which he wasn't too sure were valid, out of his mind, at least temporarily. He too was content to just sit with Starfire and stroke her soft, long, fiery hair and talk about nothing. But he had one more question. "Star…I know you just got hit, and pretty bad, so will you be up for our team work-out session tomorrow? I mean, if you're not feeling good, I don't want you to push yourself too hard."

"No!" Starfire almost shrieked. If she was going to look as she wanted, missing a work-out was NOT an option, no matter HOW bad she felt. She coughed, trying to regain her composure. "I mean, I am sure that by tomorrow I will be feeling much better. I will be perfectly fine to train with the team."

Robin, slightly surprised by her sudden outburst, carefully worded his next sentence. "Ok…just don't push yourself too hard. You passing out in the middle of training wouldn't be good."

"No, it would not. I would think that that would be quite embarrassing. I would dread for that to happen!" Starfire pondered this outcome. She would hate to pass out in front of her team. That would show how weak she was. And Robin's girlfriend would **not** be weak.

"The rest of us wouldn't be looking forward to it either. So just don't push yourself, 'kay?"

"Alright, Robin."

Robin sighed contentedly as Starfire fell deeper into him, and for the rest of the afternoon, they stayed there, talking their sweet nothings. Everything was perfect. Except for the little voice floating around in Starfire's head.

_You're not worthy of him! You're not right for him! He doesn't even like you! He thinks you're ugly. He can think of many, many girls who are much prettier than you are. You are fat. Worthless. You're just a little troq._

_Just a little troq._

_A little troq._


	4. Chapter 4

Starfire sat up with a groan. Today was group training, and she was not feeling well. But skipping was not an option for her. She got up and stretched, back, arching her back, almost like a cat, before she walked into her bathroom. She undressed and looked herself over in the mirror. A small half-smile graced her face as she took in what she saw. Already, there had been some improvements. Her ribs were more obvious, as were her hip bones. She poked at the little bit of skin that persisted in staying at her stomach. _I will just have to run more. That will make me less ugly,_ she thought, the smile fading at her disappointment. She quickly dressed and headed to the training room, bypassing the kitchen with its tempting burned toast and mustard. Today was a day to work hard, not eat. Nothing would be accomplished with her eating.

When she entered the training room, she was surprised to not see anyone else there. Even Robin, who was in here as often as he was in the evidence room, was not here yet. _They must all still be…eating._ She made a face as she thought about food, trying to convince herself that the thought of joining her friends and eating as many pancakes as she possibly could, perhaps until she burst, was not a tempting thought. With a sigh, she began stretching. So inside her head was she that she didn't hear when Robin snuck up behind her. He grabbed her around the waist, spun her, and whispered, "Good morning beautiful," with a grin before he kissed her. They parted when they heard the others come lumbering down the hallway, none too happy about this group training.

Group training was a monthly process Robin insisted upon, in which everyone would take turns going into a holographic room in which there were 100 levels, and starting at one, had to fight their way through various and assorted "bad guys", trying to get up to 100. No one had gotten to 100 yet, even Robin. He was stuck on level 87, Starfire on 63, Raven and Cyborg were both on 56, and Beast Boy was on level 52. While they fought, the rest of the team was supposed to direct them, and protect them without actually being there. The one fighting relied upon his/her teammates to watch their backs, at least vocally.

Cyborg taunted Beast Boy as he prepared to enter the holographic room first. "Ya think you might finally be able to catch up to me and Rae, BB? Cause I kinda doubt it. I mean, you're pretty scrawny an' all," he said with a mocking grin.

"If my TEAMMATES actually tried to HELP me instead of DISTRACT me, I'd be waaaaaaay past you, Cyborg!" Beast Boy cried indignantly, emphasizing his point with wild arm motions.

"Okay, okay guys, just chill on it. Beast Boy, just get into the room," Robin said with a sigh, trying to keep the peace.

"'Kay," Beast Boy replied sullenly.

Robin started up the room, and training began. Beast Boy fought valiantly, and managed to get up to 56, finally on par with Cyborg and Raven. When he failed to pass level 57, he got out of the room and made sure everyone knew that he was at the same level as Raven and, more importantly, Cyborg.

When Robin was finally able to regain control over his bickering teammates, he turned to Starfire. "Are you sure you're up to this, Star?" he asked, his voiced laced with concern.

"I am fine, Robin. I was in no way incapacitated yesterday that would not allow me to complete my training today," she insisted yet again.

"'Kay, just checking. Get on in there, then."

Starfire flew into the room, and her training began. Starfire blew through the first 40 levels or so, needing little assistance from her teammates. As the numbers started to climb, she would hear one of them shout, "Behind you!" or "Watch out!" but went mostly unscathed. She blew past her previous mark of 63, and was rapidly fighting her way up to Robin's level. She was getting tired though, and quickly. Her breaths were shorter, quicker intakes of air, her chest rising and falling quickly. She was sweating, something she rarely did. Her heart rate was up, and her blood was racing. How she had made it this far on no food was a mystery. But she couldn't help but smile. She didn't need food to fight.

She completed level 85 and moved up to 86. She quickly tried to catch her breath before the next enemies appeared. She was drained. None of her breaths were even anymore; all were shallow gasps trying to fill her lungs with air. She was sore and beaten, and was fighting exhaustion as well as physical opponents. Her enemies charged, and she barely managed to shoot herself up into the air before they were all upon her. She lit up her hands and threw starbolt after starbolt, releasing all her fury and disappointment in her appearance at these enemies. One grabbed her ankle before she noticed, and slammed her to the ground. Her head hit first, leaving a dent in the floor. Ten of her opponents charged her, jumping on top of her, pummeling her to the ground. She released a terrifying amount of energy from her eyes to get them off. She got up panting, and raised her hands in a defensive position. She was not sure how much longer she could go on. She was very weak. And she HATED it. With a scream, she threw herself into the crowd of her opponents, who quickly overcame her. They beat her with punch after punch, kick after kick. There was little she could do to defend herself, or attack her enemies. She managed to back out of the melee, and backed straight into a corner. She raised her hands once again. She watched as they approached her, relentlessly. They were almost upon her, and then…she blacked out.


	5. Author's Note

Hey guys. I just wanted to apologize for having abandoned this story, and you guys, for so long. Go to my profile and I kind of did some explaining there. But! I'm back, and I really want this story, so it's going to happen. I am determined! I am also a ridiculous 16 year old pretending she can write. So, expect some edits. Nothing huge. I'm doing some serious reworking of how I want to continue this story. I am excited, and I am so sorry that it's taken me nine months (!) to reengage myself to this story. Well, that's it. Expect an update in one week, and PM me and spam me with angry messages if it's not. I'm serious. Mostly.(: Thank you for holding on, if you still are. I'll be doing my best. Feel free to message me! See you soon!

~~~Aries Heronine


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